The mental health cost of the war with Iran

While the Trump administration says it’s already won a war that’s barely two weeks old, Muslim Americans are living with the anxiety, grief and confusion that comes with watching their faith communities bombed and their family members put at risk.

For many, the psychological toll is real and relentless. Eighty-three percent of Muslim American voters oppose the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, and are dealing with the mental health effects of that kind of helplessness.

Since launching its joint-Israel war on Iran in February, the Trump administration has contradicted itself when asked about the war timeframe and goals, and blamed Iran for a deadly explosion at an Iranian girls school some military experts say was a targeted U.S. missile strike.

But amidst the Administration’s double talk, 83 percent of Muslim American voters are clear about their staunch opposition to the U.S-Israel war on Iran, according to a Council on American-Islamic Relations survey.

“As a Muslim, as an American, as a Muslim American, and as a sane person, I don’t feel we should be fighting for Israel. I feel similar feelings people in Pakistan and other Middle East countries are feeling,” said Farah Latif, a Pakistan native who lives in Northern Virginia.

“America has never gone into a country and left it better off than it was before,” Latif said.

Sentiments like Latif’s track with Navigator Research survey findings that 77 percent of Americans want leaders to focus on priorities closer to home such as inflation, jobs, immigration, and healthcare.

Mental health worries

Kent Smetters, faculty director of the Penn Wharton Budget Model, said on the “This Week in Business” Wharton podcast that the midrange direct cost of the war is approximately $65 billion, an amount the American Friends Service Committee says equals what it would cost to extend the recently expired enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies for two more years.

The expired subsidies mean reduced access to behavioral health services. Less access could affect Muslim Americans, who experience mental health challenges when they are exposed to war or discrimination, according to various studies

Islamophobia has been found to cause poor mental health outcomes among Muslim Americans, and the Center for the Study of Organized Hate said there has been an 11-fold increase in Islamophobic online content since the war on Iran started.

Latif, a professor in D.C., is relying on her faith to manage her emotions about the conflict and maintain hope.

“At a personal level, I find some peace knowing we are not helpless and knowing that prayers can help and will help. But I sometimes get anxious and wonder what’s the point of anything? Something as simple as planning ahead for a vacation. How could I enjoy a vacation if I know that my family might be in Pakistan and under duress? Or generally if the world is suffering so much?,” said Latif, whose parents live in the country’s capital of Islamabad.

“Your mind spirals, but prayers prevent that level of desperation and knowing that we are being guided through such things by our Khalifa, who has been calling for world leaders to pray for peace for several years,” Latif said.

The context the West misses

Latif said she is hopeful the war will end by April when her parents are scheduled to fly to the United States. But she is concerned that Western media is missing important context about the Middle East, namely the religious context.

“There is a big sense of loss for a lot of people because for as long as I can remember, Iran and Iraq had conflict. However, people have taken pride in the Muslim faith being a unifier in the Muslim block countries to confront the enemy and protect each other from Israel and the Western part of the world,” Latif said.

And there are widespread economic effects, too, according to Latif.

“There are lots of expats whose livelihoods are disrupted. The amount of construction going on in these Middle East countries is backed by Pakistanis, Indians, Malaysians, and Bangladeshis on long-term visas. Petroleum prices have gone up. One dollar can prevent somebody in Pakistan from affording basic necessities. You can no longer afford the cost of going to school, food, or medicine. We feel a pinch here, and they feel a blow,” Latif said about unreported stories.

While delivering a speech in Kentucky last week, President Trump told the audience, “We won” [the war] now in its second week.